Mindful Moment to Feel the Heaviness of Gun Violence (46)

Hi Wise Ones. I had a hard time deciding whether or not to put this mindful moment out today. But it just didn't feel right not to hold space for the profound pain that we are all feeling. After hearing the most recent horrific news about the latest school shooting in Nashville. I caught myself almost feeling detached and numb to this preventable tragedy, and I felt that way because it's almost expected now.

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It's so common and it's so frequent in America. And that is not okay. That is not normal. That is not something to tolerate. I don't want any of us to normalize and suppress the feelings of these horrific, preventable tragedies.

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And you might not want to continue listening after hearing what we're sitting with in this mindful moment today. And if you can't, I understand that. And if you are able, I encourage you to sit with this today.

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I believe it's important to sit with the heaviness of what we are feeling because we have to feel the pain of what is present. We have to be with what is in order to spark the necessary theory and mandatory change that we must bring about. We can't be numb to it. We can't detach from it. Our reactions can't be hopelessness or cynicism, no matter how easy and tempting it can be to fall into that.

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We must grieve. We must take care of ourselves. But we can't sit on the sidelines of this. We must take action. No matter how small it might seem, it all adds up. And it all can save lives. And now is the time to do it. So as I am continuing to navigate what role to play in this. Right now I see this space to be held as a space to feel it rather than suppressing this deep pain.

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I want to offer space for us to collect and take a moment to feel what we are feeling. To sit with the pain, the heaviness and grief.

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And this isn't a mindful moment to bypass the immediate work that needs to be done. This isn't an end. This isn't like you checked it off and you're good to go. This is one small step to continually practice so that we can take care of ourselves and that we can nurture ourselves so that we may sustain long term sustainable action.

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So we start here. We feel the deep pain that we need to feel. We tend to our hearts, our bodies and our minds so that we can step into collective action in our communities and so that we can continue stepping into this action until we get the change that is mandatory. So before we sit, I'm going to share these words that I wrote not even a year ago after the 2022 Texas shootings.

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They're the only words I have left right now. The heaviness you feel in your heart today. Feel it. Be with it. Let it spark change.

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Let's feel it together by starting with three deep breaths. So if you haven't already, find a space that's safe and supportive for you.

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Notice where your body touches the earth and take a big breath in and a big breath out again. Inhale. Fill your chest. Fill your belly with air.

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Exhale. Open your mouth. Let it all out again. Inhale chest and belly. Expand. Exhale. Open your mouth. Let it all go.

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Just release control over the breath and surrender to the natural rhythm and intuition of the breath as it flows in. And as it flows out.

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Bring your awareness to where your body is touching the earth. And let your body become completely heavy. Here.

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Know that you're held by the earth beneath you.

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The weight of the world that you might feel you're carrying all the heaviness in your body. Just let it melt, surrender it to the earth. Allow the earth to lift you up here.

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Inhale and exhale.

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Notice the thoughts that are present in your mind right now and try to observe them without over identifying with them, without being too attached to them. In this moment. Allow yourself to notice as they come in, as they pass.

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Notice what emotions might be present for you here right now. Can you give them a name?

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There's no name for them. That's perfectly okay to. And again, rather than pushing these emotions away or over identifying with them, let's take a moment to notice them. Notice what's present and explore the felt sensations of these emotions.

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So notice where in the body it's present.

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Maybe there are a lot right now.

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Can you try to pinpoint the one that is the loudest? The one that needs the most attention here rather than resisting it or suppressing it?

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Can you breathe with it? Can you get even closer to this sensation?

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Notice if it has a texture, a temperature, a weight, a smell, a taste.

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Notice if the sensation changes or if it stays the same as you sit with it. What does it feel like when you stop resisting the discomfort? Maybe even ask it? What does it need right now?

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And visualize yourself offering this sensation that which it needs, nurturing it, nourishing it in this way.

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Inhale and exhale. Can bring a hand to the heart or any other part of the body that might bring about comfort. Offer your heart. Offer yourself a hug. Here again. Feel the support of the earth beneath you, lifting you up.

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Allow yourself to feel supported, to feel nourished in this moment, not to bypass the true tragedy and pain, but to nourish and empower yourself through support in this moment so that you can take action. And the many moments that follow. Offer yourself a moment of compassion for the heaviness that you are experiencing.

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Offer compassion to the others in our collective communities who are experience seeing it as well. And I hope that this can be a practice that you can come back to, to nurture and sustain yourself so that we can show up for our communities for the long haul of action that this requires.

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Again, this is not the only thing that we do. This is what we do in this moment to nurture ourselves so that we can propel forward to collective, impactful action.

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Inhale and exhale. Now invite you to practice being with this pain again and again as often as you need, and to take action and get involved. I recommend taking action through Moms Demand Action. They're doing really great work. There's a link in the show notes for their website and to get more information, you can gain it by as simply by texting Act 264433 to take action on gun violence.

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Thank you all for showing up. And let's continue to show up and do this work together.

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